Before the "and", "but", "so", "while", etc. — while most European languages, indeed, (usually) require commas before conjunctions, English is following a somewhat reversed convention. Well, at least the author remembered that they need to omit a comma before "that".
Your semicolon would be more effective as a comma followed by "but". HTH
Which commas are misplaced?
Before the "and", "but", "so", "while", etc. — while most European languages, indeed, (usually) require commas before conjunctions, English is following a somewhat reversed convention. Well, at least the author remembered that they need to omit a comma before "that".
Apart from in Australian [0] and Canadian [1] English, where it is generally optional, but used where it can increase clarity or meter.
[0] Australian Government Publishing Service's Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers, ISBN: 978 0 7016 3648 7
[1] The Canadian style: a guide to writing and editing https://archive.org/details/canadianstylegui0000unse
As a non-native English speaker I'm always so self conscious when using commas, it feels like I'm always using either too many or too few
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You do need a comma before a conjunction if it connects two independent clauses.
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